After making their way down to the city to start their day of sight-seeing, everyone split up into two groups, the first consisting of Korra, Asami, Mako, Bolin, Opal, Iroh, and their animal companions Naga and Pabu, and the second consisting of Tenzin, Kya, Bumi, Lin, Pema, Rohan, Meelo, Ikki, Jinora, and Kai.
"Alright everyone, make sure to stick with your groups so you don't get lost." said Tenzin. "We'll meet back up at the palace in the afternoon."
"We'll see you later as well." said Varrick. "As for me and Zhu Li, we're going to enjoy some alone time in the city as part of our honeymoon."
With that everyone set off into the city to enjoy themselves and make the most out of their vacation. Korra's group began their day by going on a boat ride, which allowed them to take in all the sights around them as they traveled down an artificial waterway than encircled the city. Tenzin's group on the other hand was off to a bad start almost immediately, as Meelo had decided to wander off on his own the minute they set foot into city, forcing the group to go search for him. Throughout the day each group visited a wide variety of interesting locations, one of them being Capital City's famous Fire Sage temples, where there were several monuments dedicated to past Avatars from the Fire Nation. At around noon, both groups stopped to eat lunch at one of the city's high-end restaurants, and afterwards spent some time browsing through the many shops and stalls that dotted the streets in search of souvenirs.
As they continued their trip through the city, Korra and her friends eventually came across something they did not expect to see. Gathered in one of the city squares was a large group of people who seemed to be holding a protest, many of them chanting anti-monarchy slogans and holding up signs with disparaging messages towards the Fire Nation government. Most shocking of all was that several of the people there had scars and burn marks on their various parts of their bodies, or even had body parts that were missing altogether and had been replaced with metal prosthetic parts.
"What's going on here?" asked Korra. "Is this some kind of protest?"
"This is something I'd rather you have not seen, but yes." said Iroh, sighing. "These are likely veterans who fought in the civil war, while the others are probably innocents who were caught up in the middle of the conflict and had their lives destroyed by it. I think I might even recognize a few of the faces here."
"How did that whole war even start?" asked Korra. "As the Avatar, I have a responsibility to at least know what happened since I wasn't able to do anything about it."
"As I mentioned before, it started around the time Aang died, but the conflict had already been brewing for quite some time before that." said Iroh. "In the years leading up to the war, there were many political factions within the Fire Nation who were unhappy with the way things were being run by the royal government, so tensions were on the rise. To make matters worse, Aang's health had begun to rapidly deteriorate, which greatly affected his ability to perform his Avatar duties and keep the peace. Knowing this, these political factions grow ever bolder in pursuing their goals and ideals, and once Aang was dead they knew they would be able to do as they wished without fear of facing repercussions. Within months, various warlords, political dissidents, and even some surviving Ozai loyalists all began to carve out their own territories throughout the Fire Nation and declared themselves to be independent from the authority of the royal government."
"So all of this happened because a few selfish individuals wanted power for themselves?" asked Korra. "How could they be so short-sighted?"
"To the other nations watching from afar it may have seemed that way, but in reality it was not that simple." said Iroh. "It was a very complex affair in which all sides believed themselves to be in the right, and a few of those involved arguably did have some legitimate grievances with the royal government."
"What does this have to do with the monarchy though?" asked Korra. "These people seem to be really upset with them some reason."
"There are many who believe that the royal government is to blame for allowing the war to happen in the first place." said Iroh. "As much as I hate to admit it, they have a point. Since the end of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation has greatly reduced the size and strength of its military as part of the peace agreement it reached with the other nations. It was meant to keep the Fire Nation's imperialistic ambitions towards the other nations in check, but ironically it also weakened the Fire Nation to threats from within. We became complacent and came to rely too heavily on the Avatar to resolve all of our internal disputes, and once Aang was gone there was nothing to stop war from breaking out. The way in which the royal government handled the conflict has also been heavily criticized, with some claiming that it was the monarchy's weakness and ineptitude that had allowed the war to drag on for so long and why it turned out being as bloody and devastating as it was. "
"That must have been rough." said Korra. "How did Zuko deal with the whole thing?"
"My grandfather Zuko was Firelord at the time, but even he was powerless to stop it." said Iroh. "Everything he had worked so hard to build and maintain since the end of the Hundred Year War was lost as the Fire Nation fell to pieces. It was a long and terrible war, which the royal government managed to win in the end and reunite the Fire Nation once again under their authority, but it came at the cost of many lives. In the years following the war, people slowly began to lose trust and confidence in the monarchy, viewing it as weak and indecisive. This eventually led to Zuko stepping down as Firelord and handing the throne over to my mother Izumi in recent years, but even then there's been a growing number of people calling for the monarchy to step down. The news of what happened in the Earth Kingdom a few years ago has only added fuel to that fire."
"I remember hearing our mom sometimes mention something about a war to our dad when we were little kids." said Mako, walking over to Korra and Iroh. "I'm guessing it must have been the reason why she left the Fire Nation and moved to the United Republic to start a new life."
"I lost some of my closest friends in the war." said Iroh, a sad look on his face. "The reason I later became a general in the United Forces was so that I would have the means to protect the Fire Nation and prevent a tragedy like that from ever happening again."
As they watched the protest, one of the protesters in the crowd climbed onto a pedestal and began speaking into a megaphone.
"People of the Fire Nation, heed our call." said the protester. "The monarchy that rules over this once great nation has lost touch with its people and now ignores their plights and struggles. Those of us you see gathered here are living proof of that; victims of their disastrous war that has ruined the lives of so many people. To them we are nothing but inconvenient reminders of their failure that they wish to forget about, but we will not stay silent. There is one man who has not forgotten about us and has heard our call. He is Xai Bau, and he sympathizes with the people of the Fire Nation and suffers with them. The time has come for this corrupt and outdated system of government to be torn down, and he will be the one to do it. Xai Bau's wish is to pave the way for a better future for all people of the Fire Nation."
The crowd of protesters all began to cheer, as well as some of the people from the city who were watching the protest unfold. The protesters then put up an effigy of a masked man raised a flag with the insignia of a red lotus flower on it above it, firing off confetti as they did so.
"This is giving me some serious deja vu." said Korra. "It's like Amon all over again, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that kind of look like the symbol of the Red Lotus? You think they might have something to do with this?"
"I don't know, but if they do it can't be good." said Mako.
As they spoke, some of the protesters in the crowd took notice of Iroh standing nearby and drew attention to it.
"It appears we have a visitor here among us; Fire Prince Iroh." said the protester with the megaphone. "Have you come here to arrest us for disturbing the peace and speaking ill of the monarchy? We are holding a peaceful protest."
The crowd of protesters then began to boo at Iroh, some of them even throwing rotten fruit towards Korra and her friends, who they viewed as being guilty by association with Iroh.
"You're all barking up the wrong tree." said Iroh. "Out of everyone in power right now, I'm probably the one who is most in touch with the people. I fought in the war just like all of you did, and I did it to protect the people of Fire Nation from the tyranny of those who would destroy it for their own selfish gain."
"I think it's time we got out of here." said Mako, feeling a sense of unease.
"I agree, let's go." said Korra, also feeling that they had worn out their welcome.
As Korra and her friends left the city square with Iroh, a suspicious looking man who had been watching them from afar slipped away, disappearing into an alleyway.
Korra and her friends were now on their way back to the palace, and as they approached the entrance they noticed an old woman who seemed to be struggling to climb the stairs while carrying a large number of shopping bags in her arms. The old woman looked towards them for a brief moment with a pained look on her face and then turned away, and upon seeing this Mako and Bolin immediately felt compelled to help her.
"Need some help there Ma'am?" asked Mako, he and Bolin walking ahead of the group and going over to the old woman to assist her.
"Why thank you young man." said the old woman. "Your assistance would be much appreciated. My back and shoulders are killing me."
"You've sure got a lot of bags with you lady." said Bolin.
"Yes, it appears I may have gone bit overboard with the shopping today." said the old woman.
Mako and Bolin each grabbed a handful of bags from her and began to carry them up the steps until they reached the top.
"Thank you for your assistance, but you can go ahead and set them down right here." said the old woman. "I'll just have the palace servants carry them over to my room now."
A few of the palace servants then approached and picked up the bags, carrying them further off into the palace.
"It was nothing." said Mako. "We were just helping out someone in need."
"You boys are so kind and helpful." said the old woman. "Your own grandmother must be so proud to have such wonderful grandchildren."
The old woman then walked away and disappeared into the palace as the rest of the group finally caught up with Mako and Bolin.
"Who was that nice old lady?" asked Bolin.
"That was my great aunt Azula." said Iroh.
"What, that was Azula!" said Bolin, shocked. "The third legendary Dragon Sibling was right there in front of me and I didn't even know it! I feel so stupid."
"She's actually not as weak as she seems." said Iroh. "I've seen her carry three times as many bags up those stairs all by herself. Knowing her, she was probably just pretending to have trouble with those bags so that someone naive like you two would come along and do all the work for her. She sometimes uses her old age to her advantage like that."
"You've got to be kidding me." said Mako, now feeling embarrassed.
"You both sure have a soft spot for old ladies, don't you?" asked Korra.
"I couldn't help it." said Mako. "Something about the way her face looked kind of reminded me of our mom."
"It doesn't look like the others are back yet." said Korra, looking around for signs of Tenzin's group. "What else is there to do in the city this time of year?"
"If you're interested, there's going to be a big festival tomorrow night." said Iroh. "The best part is that it's going to be all about you Korra."
"All about me?" asked Korra, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well, more specifically it's going to be about your past lives." said Iroh. "Every year there's a festival held in Capital City that honors and celebrates the Avatar, or more specifically all the Avatars that have come from the Fire Nation. The people here may have some mixed feelings towards the royal family, but the Avatar is still someone who they all look up to and admire."
"Since not many people here know my face, it might be nice to enjoy my own festival without all the unwanted attention." said Korra, considering the idea. "Sounds like it'll be a blast. I've heard that the festivals here in the Fire Nation are a sight to behold."
"They are indeed, especially the ones on Ember Island during the summer months." said Zuko, appearing from one of the hallways to greet them.
"My grandfather and his sisters used to take me to the Avatar Festival all the time when I was a kid." said Iroh. "All four of us would compete with each other in a game of fire jump rope, but my great-aunt Kiyi would always end up winning. She was just too agile for us."
"Hmm, fire jump rope." said Korra, forming a mental image of what that might entail. "That sounds like something we're going to have to try out Mako."
About an hour later, Tenzin's group finally arrived at the palace, along with Varrick and Zhu Li.
"Where have you guys been?" asked Bolin, walking over to Kai. "Did you all get lost or something?"
"We did, big time." said Kai. "There was this enormous supermarket and we all decided to go inside to take a look, but that turned out to be a huge mistake. It was even bigger than the little Ba Sing Se shopping mall in Republic City. We got lost in there thanks to Meelo running off on his own and spent almost two trying to find the door to get out. Luckily Jinora found it and we made it back here, but now we're all just exhausted."
"Same here." said Korra. "I think I'm going to go rest up for a bit before dinner."
Everyone else was of a similar mood, and both Korra's group and Tenzin's group went off to their rooms to get some rest after their long day of having fun in the city.
